Global Dental Guidelines

Why is this initiative important?

Dental/oral disease is the most common medical issue in small animal medicine.

Oral disease IS painful. However, veterinary patients rarely show signs of pain.

There are numerous significant local and regional consequences of oral infection. There are numerous significant systemic effects of oral infection.

Due to the significant amount of pain and infection, including the significant local, regional and systemic consequences, un- and undertreated oral and dental pathology significantly decreases the patient’s quality of life.

This can and should be interpreted as an animal welfare program.

There is a tremendous lack of dental education in the veterinary profession.

Less than 20% of veterinary schools in the US and even fewer worldwide have a veterinary dentist on staff.

Based on the above:

There exist a significant number of myths regarding dentistry.

Oral, dental, and maxillofacial disease is significantly under as well as poorly treated.

This misinformation not only results in poor treatment, but has allowed procedures such as anesthesia-free dentistry to flourish.

Confusion as to the cause of periodontal disease has also created a culture in which antibiotics are used to excess in dental disease.

There is likely no area of veterinary medicine that needs education and standardization more than dentistry.